Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 99

Episode 99

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

A goddess statue, half-corroded and crumbled, having been left unmanaged for far too long.

In front of it, a small figure with an appearance identical to the Saintess lay on an equally old altar.

A mystical silver light was pouring out from his body.

Contrary to the title 'The One Forsaken by God' and the ominous power he was wielding, it was a rather holy sight.

One of the twelve High Priests, witnessing the bizarre scene he had only heard about for the first time, let out a sound of admiration as if possessed.

"Ooh, that is……"

"Priest Baron. Please focus on the prayer."

"Ahem. Yees…… My apologies, Your Holiness."

But he fell silent at the Pope's sharp reprimand.

They had gathered in this place to prevent 'The One Forsaken by God' from harboring wicked thoughts and spreading his ominous power outside the temple.

But there was no one present who didn't know that was just an excuse.

The Pope lit the candle placed before the altar, as if making an offering to the goddess, and then recited as if reading from holy scriptures.

"For the Agent of God and the one who rejects the sanctuary to be born from the same womb, this Pope believes this, too, is the Goddess's providence, taking pity on this chaotic world."

"……"

"Although he is one who possesses wicked power, it is our temple's duty not to ostracize and intimidate him, but to embrace him with a generous heart and guide him so that his ability may be used for good……"

"Gasp!"

Just then. 'The One Forsaken by God', who had been lying on the altar, shot up, cutting off the Pope's rambling.

The strange light that had been faintly emanating from his body was already gone.

"What is it, Nise."

"The monsters…… The monsters are all……"

At the Pope's irritated question, Nise, sweating, haltingly opened his mouth.

The presence of the monsters he had been controlling to head toward the Hailey estate had vanished in an instant.

The connection would grow faint as the distance increased, but it was rare for it to be severed so abruptly.

Either he had revived monsters that had been dead for too long, or someone had... all the monsters......

"What about the monsters, why do you trail off……!"

Just as the Pope, frustrated with Nise's pause, was urgently pressing him.

"Your Holiness! Th-There's trouble!"

High Priest Yohan, who had been put in charge of communicating with the mercenaries, ran in, his face pale.

"What is it, Priest Yohan."

"A-An urgent report came from the mercenaries who went to scout Hailey. Someone unidentifiable killed all the goblins!"

"Wh-What?! What on earth does that……!"

"A-And, there was another man in that person's party……"

Yohan, who had hurriedly delivered the news, paused to catch his breath, then struggled to continue.

"H-His appearance looked similar to His Highness the Crown Prince……"

"Th-The Crown Prince?!"

The Pope's wrinkled eyes flew wide open.

"That can't be! He clearly said he couldn't sleep and had to get a Sleep-Inducing Potion from the apothecary……!"

The Pope, shouting as his yellowed pupils trembled, suddenly stopped.

"That bastard, surely he didn't... on purpose……"

A dreadful premonition struck the Pope. He turned pale as he recalled the day's events.

"I have a headache and would like to get a prescription for a sleep potion. May I borrow the apothecary for a moment?"

"Because I'm in a bit of a hurry right now."

There was something unsettling about it, but he had taken the apothecary so urgently, it seemed he was desperate for sleep.

As it was, several apothecaries in the capital had suddenly quit and left, making it unusually difficult to acquire potions.

He had been worried about using the low-grade sleeping pills circulating on the market, so he thought it was a good thing the Crown Prince was seeking a sleep potion of his own accord.

At the time the monsters overran the Hailey estate, the Crown Prince had to be asleep.

He had thought that if the Crown Prince drank the sleep potion he had acquired himself, in addition to the food laced with sleeping pills, he would have no room for suspicion......

Grind. The Pope ground his teeth and then asked sharply.

"The one who killed the goblins? Do you have any idea who it was?"

"Th-That is, they were wearing a shabby robe, so it was impossible to tell from a distance…… However, they said he used a highest-grade attack artifact."

At the words "shabby robe," Nise's shoulders flinched, but the enraged Pope failed to notice.

"Those incompetent, stupid mercenary bastards! I told them they should have brought stronger monsters!"

The Pope couldn't contain his rage at the fact that the monsters, captured at a cost rivaling the Grand Temple's entire annual budget, had been wiped out by a single artifact.

This was already the second time.

With the goblins becoming useless following the gargoyles, the doubt he had felt inwardly hardened into certainty.

"……Someone among us has leaked the secret."

The Pope, who had been seething heavily, took a deep breath and barely managed to control his anger.

In the end, there was only one cause for the failure.

The Pope's sharp eyes turned toward the altar.

"Father wanted to believe you, Nise, when you said you encountered no one on your way back to the temple."

Nise, who had been lying limply from overusing his ability, turned pale and shook his head.

"……I-It's true. I-I really didn't... anyone back then……"

"That is something only you and the Goddess would know."

Even if Nise's words were true, nothing changed.

All actions have consequences.

"Follow me."

"F-Father. Father! W-Wait. Wait……"

The Pope had clearly said to follow, but Nise shook his head pitifully at the rough hands of the priests pulling him up.

It was then.

Grind, grind, grind, grind, grind, grind.

Suddenly, a bizarre sound echoed from beyond the corridor.

Pfft, pfft.

At the same time, the lit candles went out one by one, and a dark shadow rushed in, covering the altar.

"Y-Your Holiness!"

Just as the High Priests were panicking and fumbling, feeling the immense, wicked energy that made their skin sting.

The Pope suddenly raised the staff he held in one hand and shouted solemnly.

"Be gone, you vile and wicked specter!"

Fwoosh!

A brilliant light exploded from the large crystal orb at the end of the staff.

From the power of the sacred relic, said to be passed down only to the Pope, the dark energy that had been assaulting the old temple seemed to flinch and retreat for a moment.

Grind, grind, grind, grind, grind, grind.

But that, too, was brief. The standoff between the brilliant light and the darkness continued, taut.

Whoooooosh

A fierce gale raged.

"Ugh…… Great and Holy Goddess, take pity on us, and as you have always done, grant us tolerance and mercy!"

The High Priests all chanted a prayer, as if using divine power.

Nise shook his head at the monster that was struggling to approach him.

'I'm fine. Go back.'

As he mouthed the words, the agitated, bulging eyes closed, one by one.

Fwooooooosh

Finally, the wicked darkness began to recede.

The raging gale died down, and as the complete silence of the night returned, the Pope lowered his light-emitting staff.

Wiping the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, he clicked his tongue nonchalantly and muttered.

"Tsk, filthy thing."

Feeling as if those words were directed at him, Nise dropped his head limply.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Whoosh! Crack! Crack!

"Hk!"

In front of the Fourth Prayer Room.

Every time the harsh sound of friction came from beyond the door, Liv flinched and trembled, as if she were the one being whipped.

The faint groans that had continued for a while could no longer be heard.

Whoosh! Crack!

Nevertheless, the sound of friction did not stop.

"Hk!"

Just as Liv, trembling, grabbed the doorknob and hesitated.

The doorknob suddenly turned, and the door burst open.

Liv, startled, stepped back.

"Y-Your Holiness……!"

"Liv, you were still there."

The one opening the door and coming out was, naturally, the Pope.

He was slightly surprised to see Liv standing in front of the door, but he soon walked past her with a thoroughly exhausted face.

"Good timing. My body feels a bit weak, so I require your help."

He was telling her to follow him to his office.

The metallic stench of blood wafted through the open doorway.

Liv felt her heart sink.

She was dying to check inside.

But the Pope was in an extremely sensitive state right now, so it was better not to get on his bad side.

"……D-Dawn is already breaking. You must be very tired, Your Holiness."

Liv, as always, followed the Pope, striking up a conversation in a gentle voice.

A short while later, in the Pope's office.

Plop. The Pope, who had collapsed onto the sofa, silently held out both his hands to Liv.

The Pope's two palms were caked in blood.

But it was unknown how much of that blood was his own.

However, Liv, without showing any sign of it, bustled to search her clothes and took out a small bottle.

"Goodness! I-I'll treat it right away! I prepared some holy water just in case."

"Unlike your brother, I do like that you are quick-witted."

The Pope, as if satisfied with Liv's attitude, offered a rare compliment.

A transparent liquid with a blackish tint sloshed inside the bottle.

Holy water, no different from her own blood.

But perhaps it was her imagination, the blackish tint felt particularly strong and murky compared to other times.

'It's a useless thought.'

Liv hurriedly shook her head and opened the bottle's cap.

And she immediately poured the holy water onto the Pope's palms.

Trickle!

With the clear sound, the bloodstains soiling the Pope's hands were washed away cleanly.

And at the sight of the Pope's clean palms, now revealed, Liv's face turned deathly pale.

"Wh-Wh-What is……"

The Pope's palms were red and raw, as if from gripping a hard object for a long time.

Fortunately, there were no wounds that would bleed.

But that was no comfort at all.

The holy water, her blood, contained a dramatic healing power that returned anything to its original state.

Therefore, the Pope's red, raw hands should also have returned to their original soft state, as if they had never known a day of hardship.

"Y-Your Holiness. Th-This is, I mean……"

Liv, as if she were being strangled, looked back and forth between the Pope's face and his hands, shaking her head.

Then she suddenly cried out.

"I-It must be because I drew it too early! I-If I draw it right now, right now……!"

"Liv."

The Pope lowly stopped her as she hurriedly tried to take out the dagger she always carried.

"You and your brother are both becoming more and more useless."

"Y-Your Holiness!"

Liv was appalled at his words, and then she began to beg desperately.

"N-No, Your Holiness! I-It's because of the illness I caught during the procession, my body is just a bit unwell……!"

"I already knew your healing power was not what it used to be. As if all the priests around you are blind."

"……"

At those words, Liv froze, as if struck by lightning.

Her blood, which used to show miraculous healing power with just one drop, had lost its efficacy as the years went by.

It had increased from one drop to two drops, then three drops, and now she had to shed quite a lot of blood to barely achieve healing.

But, as long as she managed to return things to their original state, people would still praise her in unison.

That included the priests the Pope had assigned to assist her.

Furthermore, every time her healing power waned, Nise would, like a ghost, restore her to her original state.

Because of that, Liv was confident. The temple still needed her.

That this glorious honor of being the Saintess would last forever......

"Haah…… Wasting money, wasting time…… What to do about this……"

But seeing the Pope muttering as if fed up, a sudden fear washed over her.

The Pope, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, finally turned his head to look at Liv.

"Your brother insisted it wasn't true, but it seems that bastard Crown Prince has noticed something, so the same trick won't work."

"……"

"I was thinking while atoning to the Goddess, Liv. It seems you twins have only one card left."

"Wh-What is……"

"The nuisance in the old temple."

"H-Hk!"

Liv sucked in a sharp breath.

That monster, always sticking to Nise's back.

As the Pope mentioned it, a strong sense of rejection, along with a frantic anxiety, washed over her.